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Close Reading & Analysis

The Assignment:
Closely analyze the features of a published argument and report your conclusions.
This isnt an essay. Its a report, with sections. Each section is its own mini-essay, and weve
provided a checklist for each section so you know what each section should talk about.
List of sections: Introduction, Annotated Printout, Analysis of Orienting Statements, Analysis of
Paragraphing & Transitions, Analysis of Logic & Evidence, Analysis of Credibility, Analysis of
Emotional Appeals.
Section Descriptions
Introduction
Your introduction should tell us the following details (though the order and presentation of them is
up to you):
The authors name, title of the article, where the article is located (i.e., which book?)
What were your initial expectations for the article, based on previous experiences with that
subject (or author, if youve read the author before)? What, if anything, surprised you?
Annotated Printout
Print out the article and annotate it with the sections below in mind, labeling the features of the text
you expect to talk about in the report. For an example of an annotated article, see pp. 522-528 of the
St. Martins Guide.
Analysis of Orienting Statements
Before handling this section, read pages 546-548 of The St. Martins Guide, which talk about thesis
statements and forecasting statements. Youll know youve read them carefully enough if you know the
difference between the two previous terms and can guess what we might mean by terms like implied
thesis or closing thesis. The pages dont use the terms implied thesis and closing thesis, but they do describe
each of those concepts on p. 547. If you read carefully, you should be able to match our terms to the
ideas from the book. (Why are we asking you to do this matching? Its a reading comprehension
skill. Frequently, two texts talk about the same ideas but use different terms to do it. Recognizing
when this happens is a useful skill to practice.)
Once you understand the concepts above, answer the following questions for this section:
Does the article have an explicit or an implied thesis?
At what point in the essay does the thesis become clear? Is it an introductory or a closing
thesis? (Or neither?) Why do you think the author handled the thesis in this way?
In your own words, tell us what you think the thesis is. Quote any parts of the text that you
think might show us why you reached that conclusion.
Does the article contain a forecasting statement? If so, what is it? Does it accurately forecast
the content of the article?
If it doesnt have a forecasting statement, propose a sentence that might work as a forecasting
statement for the article and tell us where youd put it. Would such a statement make the
essay stronger, or not? Why or why not?

ENG 1003

Last updated: 24 August 2015

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Close Reading & Analysis
Analysis of Paragraphing and Transitions
Before you begin this section, read pp. 548-552, and 555-560 of the St. Martins Guide. Youll need to
understand the following concepts: paragraph indentation vs. paragraph spacing, announcement topic sentences,
transitional topic sentences, concluding topic sentences, topic sentences covering more than one paragraph, logical
transitions, temporal transitions, spatial transitions, headings and subheadings.
Once youre ready, outline the article using the approach described below:

List, in the order they appear in the article, all of the topic sentences in the article, as well as
any transitions, any headings, any subheadings, and any orienting statements (thesis
statements and/or forecasting statements).
Label each one, like so:
o THESIS: All dogs should go to heaven.
o FORECASTING STATEMENT: There are three reasons for my position: theyve
earned it, theyre needed upstairs, and St. Peter is lonely.
o TOPIC: Dogs deserve it for faithful service on Earth.
o TRANSITION (Logical): Indeed, that faithful service is needed in Heaven.
o TOPIC: Dogs are needed for guard duty at the Pearly Gates.
o (etcetera)
Whenever possible, quote sentences directly from the article. Indicate you are quoting by
using quotation marks. If you paraphrase (and you may have to when thesis or topic
statements are implied), indicate you are paraphrasing by not using quotation marks. (In the
example above, the forecasting statement and transition are quoted; the rest are
paraphrased.)

Then answer the following questions:

How does the writer use paragraphing, cues, transitions, and headings to keep the reader on
track?
Are the writers strategies effective? If so, provide an example. If not, cite an example and
speculate about the writers reasons for doing things the way he or she chose to do them?
Can you think of a good reason he or she might have used a strategy that seems, at first
glance, less than ideal?
Analysis of Logic and Evidence
Before attempting this section, review these parts of the St. Martins Guide:
pp. 539-541The ABC test for evaluating logic
pp. 611-617Giving reasons and support
pp. 620-621Logical fallacies
When youre ready, choose a critical moment in the article you selected an important part of the
argument that the writer is making. Write a paragraph analyzing that section and evaluate its use of
evidence and logic, using the following questions to guide you:
Support: What kind of support does the author use to back up the claim or point youre
looking at?
Logic: How well does that part of the argument do on the ABC test for evaluating logic? Do
you spot any logical fallacies?
ENG 1003

Last updated: 24 August 2015

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Close Reading & Analysis

Overall Evaluation: How well overall does the writer use logic and evidence to make the
point you selected?

Analysis of Credibility
Before completing this section, read the following passages from the St. Martins Guide: pp. 542-543,
Judging the Writers Credibility, and pp. 617-620, Responding to Objections and Alternatives.
Understand the test of knowledge, test of fairness, test of common ground, acknowledging, conceding, and refuting.
When youre ready, write a paragraph evaluating the writers credibility, using all three tests. When
you discuss the tests of fairness and common ground, tell us whether your writer uses
acknowledging, conceding, or refuting strategies. Does the writer use them effectively and fairly?
Analysis of Emotional Appeals
Before you complete this section, read pp. 537-538 (Looking for Patterns of Opposition), and pp.
541-542 (Recognizing Emotional Manipulation). This is the last section! :-)
When youre ready, answer the following questions:
List the patterns of opposition you find in your article, asterisking (as the textbook does on
page 538) those that the writer seems to prefer.
Identify any other aspects of the text that appear to appeal to emotion (loaded language,
anecdotes or stories meant to provoke an emotional reponse, etc.).
Evaluate the authors use of emotional appeals: Are any of them unfairly manipulative or
distortions of the truth? (Hint: You may have to fact-check to establish whether theyre
truthful.)
If you do not find any emotional appeals, evaluate the authors decision not to use them.
Why do you think the author decided not to use any, and why do you think it was (or was
not) a good decision?
Tips:
1. When you work on this, you dont have to complete all of the steps in order. If one is too
difficult, try skipping to another sectionits possible that when you come back to the
tough part, itll make more sense the second time.
2. You dont need to worry about having a thesis statement or conclusion that ties all of this
stuff together its okay just to respond to each section as though it were its own, separate
prompt.

ENG 1003

Last updated: 24 August 2015